The Guilford County School District is asking for $10 million dollars from the local Board of Education for safety and security improvements.
The district wants to reduce the number of open exterior doors, upgrade surveillance systems, improve the emergency communications and fire alarm and detection systems and introduce student ID badges for more secure access into schools.
Scott McCully, the district's chief operations officer, submitted the memorandumto the Board of Education on Tuesday, September 10th. He says there are ways to improve the safety of a school without making it feel like a fortress.
"We want to be welcoming and be as least intrusive as possible, but at the same time have safe guards built in so that parents feel like there's that level of safety for their children as they come to school each and every day," McCully said.
Guilford County Schools isn't alone in increasing security efforts. In early September, Wake County Schools hired Florida-based school safety organization School Safety Advocacy Council to perform security audits on every school in the district.
In the past year, Cumberland County Schools have added security fencing around the perimeter of schools and more security cameras to buildings, among other measures.
Guilford County's Board of Education is expected to vote on McCully's proposal in the coming months.
